‘UFC 149: Faber vs. Barao’ event review
‘UFC 149: Faber vs. Barao’ is in the bag and a much crticised pay-per-view card was overshadowed by a thrilling preliminary card when the UFC touched down in Calgary, Alberta, Canada for the first time. The bantamweight division has employed a new part-time caretaker and the middleweight title picture also got a jolt in the arm, so to find out what lies ahead for the winners and losers last night, click on the dotted line…
Barao becomes interim UFC bantamweight champ, edges out a timid Faber in Calgary
The main event of the evening saw two top contenders vie for the interim UFC bantamweight title as surging Brazilian prospect, Renan Barao, faced former WEC kingpin, Urijah Faber and the two 135lb’ers put on a fittingly frustrating show to end the night.
We expected a full-throttle five rounds but what we got was a strategic and at times, stale, kickboxing battle as Faber failed several times to take the Brazilian down and was forced to try to trade strikes. While Faber had some joy across the five rounds, it was mainly Barao who caught the eye as he smashed kick after kick to Faber’s lead leg.
Barao flurried on occasion but although Faber looked tentative and spent much of the fight backing up, he never seemed in real danger and our electrifying main event turned out to be something of a dud. After five rounds, all three judges saw the fight in the favour of the Brazilian, Renan Barao, who keeps his ridiculous unbeaten streak alive while becoming the interim champion.
Next for Barao: Now riding a staggering twenty-nine fight win streak, the Nova Uniao dynamo has gone 4-0 in the UFC while beating such recognised names as Brad Pickett, Scott Jorgensen and now, Urijah Faber. Barao is as worthy of a title contender as we’re likely to see but with Dominick Cruz scheduled to be on the treatment table until 2013, the Brazilian will need to defend his interim title. Expect the well-rounded prodigy to face Michael McDonald before the year is out, with the winner being the rightful contender for Cruz when he returns.
Next for Faber: ‘The California Kid’ was like a lost child for much of the fight, unable to impose his wrestling and continuously beaten to the punch. Faber’s failed title shots are adding up and the Team Alpha Male veteran will need a few high-profile wins to get back into contender status. A fight with his arch-nemesis, Dominick Cruz’s best buddy, and in-form contender, Mike Easton, would be a solid main card addition for a December fight card.
Boetsch continues to shock, edges out Lombard to throw title picture wide open
The co-main event screamed ‘Fight of the Night’ when announced, but the middleweight clash between former Bellator champion and UFC newcomer, Hector Lombard, and burly Tim Boetsch ended up being a real stalemate that never really got into second gear.
Lombard’s reputation suggested a real slugfest was on the cards but the Cuban Olympian spent much of the fight stalking down his much bigger opponent and although his shots landed harder, Boetsch was happy enough to take a lick or two to land a clean leg-kick on the counter.
Lombard managed a few tidy takedowns, but ‘The Barbarian’ was able to get back to his feet each time and as the clock wound down, it was becoming clear that Lombard had exhausted his options. A razor-close split decision went in the favour of Boetsch, handing the Pennsylvanian his biggest win to date.
Next for Boetsch: If Lombard had won, he’d be fighting Anderson Silva in December. Once again, Tim Boetsch has thrown a spanner in the works and taken out a highly-favoured contender, after knocking out Yushin Okami in February. ‘The Barbarian’ probably needs one more win to get a title shot, and to do so, he’ll need to get past undefeated wrestling convert, Chris Weidman.
Next for Lombard: ‘Lightning’ was deeply disappointing last night, looking a far cry from the world-beater we were expecting but if we give Lombard the benefit of the doubt, he at least showed a good chin and decent cardio against a top contender. The judoka will probably face the loser of UFC 152′s clash between Brian Stann and Michael Bisping, with the winner shooting back into contender status.
Kongo’s experience counts; heavyweigh veteran grinds out decision over Jordan
A rather dull heavyweight affair on the main card saw French veteran Cheick Kongo grind out a workmanlike and rather predictable decision over Jackson’s MMA prospect, Shawn Jordan. The former football player gave Kongo a tough first five minutes but from there on, the Wolfslair Academy veteran took over.
The taller Kongo successfully neutralised Jordan’s striking by landing a few sweet right hands during exchanges and constantly putting his back against the cage. With it being a Kongo fight, testicles were bludgoened on occasion but after a sluggish fifteen minutes, the Frenchman walked away with the unanimous decision.
Next for Kongo: As usual, Kongo takes out the up-and-coming heavyweight but will probably fall short when he gets a step-up in competition. We’ve wanted to see Kongo face Brazilian Gabriel Gonzaga for a few years and now seems as good a time as any.
Next for Jordan: ‘The Savage’ started with confidence but ultmately lost out to a more seasoned and crafty fighter. Jordan gave a good account of himself in what was a significant bump in competition and the New Mexico resident could face Christian Morecraft when he returns to action.
Ebersole has boring fight, world stands still; Head takes decision that few saw coming
In the welterweight division, highly-experienced Brian ‘Bad Boy’ Ebersole took his second fight in less than a month on the main card as he faced rising star, James Head. The Indiana native had won an army of fans for his unorthodox but effective style inside the Octagon but last night, Ebersole looked deflated as he saw a 4-0 run in the UFC grind to a halt.
Head, a huge welterweight at 6ft 2in, spent much of the fight expertly sprawling on lacklustre takedown attempts as Ebersole fell into a terribly predictable routine. Head sprawled, brawled and attempted the odd submission as he largely contained the veteran and doing enough to earn the split decision.
Next for Head: The Oklahoma native’s welterweight record reads 2-0 and both victories were commendable, meaning Head should be pushing for another main card berth later this year. Expect the all-rounder to face the rugged Matt Brown in a sure-fire crowd-pleaser.
Next for Ebersole: ‘Bad Boy’ looked like a man who’d taken a fight at short notice and having spoken about cutting to 155lbs before accepting this fight, expect the veteran to make the move to the lightweight division where he’ll probably make his debut before the year is out.
Riddle scores the only finish on the main card, taps out Clements in style
On paper, a main card containing Hector Lombard, Renan Barao, Urijah Faber and Tim Boetsch was bound to get some highlight-reel material but it came from the most unlikely of sources. Welterweight rookie, Matt Riddle, headed into hostile territory as he faced Ontario’s Chris Clements and the Xtreme Couture prospect got the job done to earn ‘Submission of the Night’ honours.
The first two rounds were evenly balanced as Riddle hit a few takedowns but was unable to capitalise and Clements had his moments in the striking exchanges. But early in round three, Riddle latched onto an arm-triangle while standing at the fences and deftly tripped Clements down, tightening the hold and getting the tap at 2:02 of the final round.
Next for Riddle: The big welterweight has now won back-to-back fights and moves to 7-3, with every one of those fights occurring inside the Octagon. The likeable wrestler will possibly return to face unbeaten Brazilian prospect, Marcelo Guimaraes, in the months ahead.
Next for Clements: The Canadian had little joy even in his element as Riddle was able to shut down the striker but Clements only falls to 1-1 in the UFC so will get another shot. We could see the Shawn Tompkins student to face Swedish banger, Papy Abedi, for a spot on the roster.
Preliminary Card round-up
Closing up the undercard was a middleweight rematch between former rivals on ‘The Ultimate Fighter’, Court McGee and Nick Ring, two men coming off a loss to boot. A rugged, gruelling three-rounder ensued as Ring landed crisper shots in the opening rounds and was able to keep the fight standing. However, McGee turned up the heat in round three as a visibly exhausted Ring couldn’t even defend himself as he backed up and ate short punches for much of the round. As on the reality show, all three judges felt Ring did enough in the earlier stages to warrant a split decision victory.
Next for Ring: The Calgary boy was left bruised up and possibly fortunate to take a victory in a fight that could have gone either way. ‘The Promise’ moves to 13-1 and could end up facing a rising prospect such as Andrew Craig or TUF Brazil graduate, Thiago Perpetuo.
Next for McGee: The winner of season eleven of TUF has now dropped back-to-back fights to leave his UFC record at 3-2 and unless McGee shows some drastic improvements his tenure in the big leagues could be short-lived. Expect the likeable and inspirational Utah native to face Rafael Natal with both men’s jobs on the line.
A sizzling bantamweight clash saw former TUF standout Roland Delorme take to the cage on home soil but Californian banger Francisco Rivera was not in charitable mood in Calgary. ‘Cisco’ began picking apart the grappler with vicious low kicks and quick hands, and late in the first round Delorme ate a short left-counter that dropped him hard and Rivera’s follow-up shots were simply overkill as the fight was called at 4:19 of round one.
Next for Rivera: After being cut at 0-1 earlier in the year, the hard-hitting ‘Cisco’ is riding back-to-back victories over solid competition and Rivera will get a bigger test when he returns in the near future. A scrap with exciting former TUF favourite, Alex Caceres, would be guaranteed fireworks.
Next for Delorme: The Canadian judoka falls to 2-1 in the UFC and will be safe for another fight, but Delorme bought into his own chin too heavily. The submission wizard could face fellow grappler, Vaughan Lee, for his next test.
We may well have seen history made on the undercard in Calgary as Canadian light-heavyweight prospect, Ryan Jimmo, made his long-awaited UFC debut against Australian BJJ black-belt, Anthony Perosh. With both men renowned for their patient fighting style, few fans expected a finish, but boy, were we wrong. Off the bell, Jimmo landed a picture-perfect right overhand that switched Perosh’s lights off on impact – the Aussie fell like a tree into the corner where his contorted face was spared by the referee’s intervention at 7-seconds of round one. Upon review, this writer expects the knockout to be timed at around 5-6 seconds, making ‘Big Deal’s UFC debut a record-breaker in the waiting.
Next for Jimmo: The Canadian climbs to 17-1 and his seventeen-fight win streak is beginning to turn heads. Jimmo silenced the critics last night who have called him a point-fighter and the Nova Scotia native could face French kickboxer, Cyrille Diabate, in the months to come.
Next for Perosh: ‘The Hippo’s impressive three-fight streak is abruptly halted with the very first punch of the fight and the Aussie will need some time to lick his wounds before returning to fight for his job against fellow veteran, Vladimir Matyushenko.
A back-and-forth war in the bantamweight division saw TUF graduate, Bryan Caraway, make his 135lb debut against talented UFC newcomer, Mitch Gagnon. The Canadian had Caraway in all sorts of trouble in the first half of thefight, landing solid shots and fending off the American while fishing for submission attempts. But Gagnon’s muscular physique proved to be his downfall, as clearly tired, he gave his back easily in the final round and Caraway sunk in the rear-naked choke to get the tap at 1:39 of the final round.
Next for Caraway: ‘Kid Lightning’ is now 2-0 since appearing on TUF and has finished both opponents at different weight-classes. The experienced former Team Alpha Male man could face former team-mate T.J Dillashaw when he returns to action.
Next for Gagnon: Despite being finished, the Canadian showed all the tools to suggest he belongs in the big leagues. If Gagnon can sort out his cardio, he could make some noise at 135lbs and could face Byron Bloodworth for a place in the promotion.
There was a highlight-reel finish in the featherweight division as experienced all-rounders, Daniel Pineda and Antonio Carvalho answered the opening bell as expected – with all guns blazing. Both threw high kicks at the same time, with Carvalho landing as both hit the ground but in the following exchange ‘Pato’ sent a sombre message to the 145lb division. The Canadian-Brazilian veteran almost guided Pineda’s head into a short right hand that turned the Texan’s legs to jelly. As Pineda wobbled, Carvalho landed a second, flush, short right hand that folded ‘The Pit’ and forced the stoppage at 1:11 of the very first round.
Next for Carvalho: ‘Pato’ levels his UFC record at 1-1 and the experienced featherweight made a huge statement by finishing a normally unshakeable fighter in Pineda. Carvalho will probably be back in action in the next few months, perhaps facing TUF Brazil standout, Rodrigo Damm.
Next for Pineda: ‘The Pit’ was 2-0 around six weeks ago, but a decision loss to Mike Brown at UFC 146 and this disastrous effort sets Pineda back down the pecking order and the always entertaining Texan will be fighting for his job against Felipe Arantes, for example, in the months to come.
The opening fight on the Facebook prelims broadcast was a back-and-forth lightweight tussle between local favourite, Mitch Clarke, and Finnish prospect Anton Kuivanen. Both men had their moments in an entertaining fight that went the distance, Clarke attempting several submissions and keeping active with his takedowns but Kuivanen unloaded with barrages of ground and pound. It really could have gone either way, but the Finn sneaked out of Canada with a split decision victory.
Next for Kuivanen: The Finn is a fairly exciting fighter to watch but clearly struggles against any kind of wrestler but to his credit, Kuivanen did show some composure in tricky situations. The part-time American Top Team prospect could face Rafaello Oliveira when he next sets foot inside the Octagon.
Next for Clarke: ‘Danger Zone’ is 0-2 in the UFC but Clarke went for broke last night and is clearly not a bad fighter, so the Canadian may get a stay of execution by facing a recent TUF contestant coming off a loss like John Cofer.
That’s a wrap for ‘UFC 149: Faber vs. Barao’, be sure to stay tuned to MMABay in the coming days as we bring you all of the fallout from a so-so fight card in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
By Steve Davies
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